The Gerald Moore Gallery is delighted to present Everything is connected in life: Art and Wellbeing, an exhibition that serves as a conclusion to the gallery’s 3-year Art Therapy and Wellbeing in Schools Project as well as exploring connections between art and mental wellbeing in 3 emerging artists’ works. The title of the exhibition is inspired by a hand-written statement by an unnamed man in Gillian Wearing’s photographic work Signs that say what you want them to say and not Signs that say what someone else wants you to say 1992–1993 (1997). The exhibition will run from 11 January to 3 February 2024.
Arts in health interventions by practicing artists in Gallery spaces and with collections are increasingly recognized as invaluable ways to support people’s wellbeing outside of clinical settings (WHO, 2019: (Lackoi, K., Patsou, M., and Chatterjee, H.J. et al. , 2016; Cutler/Baring Foundation, 2022). Clinical Art therapy into museums and galleries is an emerging area of International practice (Coles and Jury, 2020). The Gerald Moore Gallery has combined these approaches in their innovative Art Therapy and Wellbeing in Schools Project that was generously supported by Mottingham Big Local Refocused. Over the past 3 years, we have worked with 3 primary state schools in the Mottingham Big Local area to support the emotional wellbeing of pupils and their teachers during the Pandemic and beyond using art. Everything is connected in life: Art and Wellbeing will showcase this exciting project and how the gallery art works, and setting has contributed to people’s wellbeing in the schools.
Elaine Homer, Art Therapist has worked closely with the gallery exhibitions and art works together with staff from partner schools to provide art therapy groups for pupils with complex needs who would not receive statutory support. Homer has selected 5 Art Works that particularly resonated with group members and will offer her perspective on the significance of the works to the art therapy process.
Haffendi Anuar, Gallery and Project Manager/artist has worked with a range of artists to provide experiential workshops for teachers about using Art for their own Wellbeing. These sessions provided activities that teachers can subsequently share with pupils to create a ripple effect on the wellbeing of the wider school community.
The exhibition also features new art works by Flora Butler, Semin Hong and Nandhit Reddy Vasanth that directly explore wellbeing through their art in the forms of textile sculptures, interactive kinetic art, and painting.
As part of the supporting programme, the gallery will host art and wellbeing workshops for staff and students at Eltham College and members of the local community. On Saturday 3 February 2024, there will be a public wellbeing workshop run by the artists, more details will be announced.
The Big Electron by Nandhit Reddy Vasanth. Photo: Nandhit Reddy Vasanth.